1 dead after fire guts two floors of building near Mumbai; 6 residents rescued

It could have started because of a short circuit in the grocery store on the ground floor, the police said

The three-storey building in Kasa, Dahanu, where a huge fire broke out on Wednesday morning.(Santosh Patil)

One person died and six people were rescued after fire broke out on the first floor of a three-storey building in Dahanu early on Wednesday.

The deceased has been identified as Aziz Vazir Viran, 46.

When the fire started in Vishal Traders building, a commercial-cum-residential complex located in the main market area in Kasa, Dahanu taluka, most of its residents were asleep. They realised there was a fire only when smoke started entering their windows.

The village is located around 118km from Mumbai city and is in Palghar district.

Three fire tenders from Reliance Thermal, Dahanu and Boisar MIDC fire brigades were rushed to the spot, and the fire is under control now, said a fire official, who did not wish to be named.

There are four flats on the second floor of the building. While the ground floor has a grocery store, the first floor is used as a storage area where a huge stock of groceries, including drums of edible cooking oil, were stored,said Manjunath Singe, Superintendent of Police (SP) Palghar district.

“The blaze has completely gutted the ground and first floors of the building, but the second floor was accessible so we were able to rescue six residents,” Singe said.

The fire could have started because of a short circuit in the grocery store, said an official from Kasa police station, adding that investigations are going on.